LeBron James Goes Back To Cleveland

ByMEGHAN KENEALLY ABCNews logo
Friday, July 11, 2014

LeBron James has announced that he is going back to his home state of Ohio and re-joining the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The NBA superstar wrote in a piece for Sports Illustrated that he is "going home."

"Before anyone ever cared where I would play basketball, I was a kid from Northeast Ohio. It's where I walked. It's where I ran. It's where I cried. It's where I bled. It holds a special place in my heart," James wrote in the Sports Illustrated article.

Five Things to Remember About LeBron's Last 'Decision'

"If I had to do it all over again, I'd obviously do things differently, but I'd still have left. Miami, for me, has been almost like college for other kids."

"I always believed that I'd return to Cleveland and finish my career there. I just didn't know when."

The announcement will inevitably boost ticket sales at the Cavaliers but fans didn't even have to wait until today to start buying back into the franchise.

An NBA source told ESPN that the Cavaliers sold $1 million in ticket sales on Wednesday when James' 'decision' was pure speculation.

The team has also confirmed that they will not be raising season ticket prices after the acquisition of James.

Fans had spent the past few weeks reading the proverbial tea leaves ever since he became a free agent and had been weighing his options about what NBA team he would sign with.

James -- whose personal tagline touts his Ohio roots by saying he's "just a kid from Akron" -- started his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers as the first draft pick in 2003.

He stayed with the team until 2010 after declaring free agency and announcing his move to Miami in a highly publicized ESPN special "The Decision."

Five Things to Remember About LeBron's Last 'Decision'

He stayed with the Heat until becoming a free agent at the end of this season, but it did not appear that he turned his back on the Florida team completely.

James was reportedly scheduled to meet with Heat head coach Pat Riley Wednesday before announcing his latest decision.

The free agency period expires at midnight Thursday though the status of that meeting remained unclear early Wednesday evening.

James was in Las Vegas Tuesday ahead of the start of his eponymous skills academy program that began today.

Though James' decision is gaining the most attention, James is not the only NBA star who is floating in free agency at the moment. His Heat teammates Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade are also up in the air.

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